into a long detail of things which might seem trifling, and occasionally, perhaps, ridiculous; but you may receive it as an undoubted truth, that they bear great weight with them in the world; and that a disgust against a man is seldom more readily taken, than in a dereliction of these little points, either through ignorance or wilful rudeness."-The English Gentleman.

There are many other topics on which you will have to exercise your reasoning powers. Among others, let me request you not to forget to inquire into the reasons for insuring one's life, and the reasons for making a will. You should also exercise your reasoning powers in the choice of your amusements. As, however, on this subject you will also consult your inclination, I will conclude with merely a quotation in favour of the game of chess :

"There are two important lessons to be learned at chess.

"The first is the value of acquired knowledge. A person who has studied the game of chess and knows it, will beat with ease and certainty one of much more talent for the game, who understands its general principles only.

"The second is, encouragement never to give up a losing game, but still to struggle on for success, playing only with increased caution and thought, as the difficulties muster around you. In life, as at chess, no one can anticipate the remote consequences of every position, and the skilful management of disastrous circumstances may be the road to prosperity."-Mayo's Philosophy of Living.

SECTION II.

THE APPLICATION OF THE ART OF REASONING TO HISTORY.

SOME years ago I commenced a work on the Philosophy of History. It was proposed to be written in the form of Lectures. After writing two Lectures, I was compelled, from want of leisure, to lay the subject aside, and it will probably never be resumed. The commencement of the work may now for the first time be useful by standing at the head of this Section :—

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Philosophy has been defined, the knowledge of the reasons of things;' in opposition to History, which is the bare knowledge

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of facts; or to Mathematics, which is the knowledge of the quantity of things, or their measures. It is the province of philosophy to collect together those facts which have occurred; to investigate their causes and operations; and to classify them according to the principles they may have developed. It is thus that the chemist takes every object in nature, examines its constituent principles, notices their operation when brought into combination with other bodies, and from the effects he observes he forms those general rules, which are universally true, and which, when arranged and demonstrated, form what may be called the Philosophy of the Science.

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Thus it is in every branch of experimental philosophy. At first the substances of water or air, or other natural objects, are merely observed. By and by a few experiments are made upon them. Other experiments follow, and either correct or confirm those which preceded. Experiments are multiplied, until it is found at last that in a variety of instances the same experiments are uniformly followed by the same results. These are then considered as established truths; the knowledge thus acquired is acted upon in the investigation of other bodies; fresh truths are elicited; and the whole body of truths or general principles thus established by repeated experiments, constitute what is termed Natural and Experimental Philosophy.

“But this course of procedure is not confined to material substances. The moralist observes minutely what actions conduce to happiness and what lead to misery. Those actions which lead to happiness, he calls good or virtuous; those actions which lead to misery, he calls bad or vicious. He examines the causes or motives from whence those actions proceed, and he considers the motives to be good or evil according to the good or bad actions they produce. Hence he forms general rules by which he declares that certain classes of actions or motives are good, and ought to be inculcated, while other classes of actions or motives are evil, and ought to be condemned. He compares these rules with the relations which man sustains in reference to other beings in the universe. Hence, to examine the reasonableness and propriety of moral conduct, and to investigate and lay down rules for moral action, constitute what is termed the Science of Moral Philosophy.

"Thus, too, the political economist views the increase and the diminution of those products which constitute national wealth. He traces the various circumstances by which either the one or the other may be promoted; and from the observation of individual examples and instances, he lays down general principles for the regulation of future conduct in affairs of state economy. This constitutes the philosophy of the science.

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Political economy bears the same relation to history as morals

do to biography. History records those facts which have occurred in the affairs of nations. From these facts political economy derives her principles. She arranges these facts, not according to their chronological order, but accordingly as they concurred in exhibiting the good or evil of any line of political conduct. So biography records those events that have occurred in the lives of individuals; and the moralist hence derives principles for the regulation of individual conduct.

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All philosophy, whether it refer to material or immaterial subjects, is founded on fact. It is not philosophy to build castles in the air; to fancy theories, and then maintain them in defiance of evidence. If we wish to lay any claim to the character of philosophers, we must not first assume principles, and then hunt for facts in order to establish them; but our principles must be deductions from the facts with which we were previously acquainted.

When, however, the facts by which our principles are supported are so numerous or so decisive, that few persons are disposed to dispute the conclusion to which they lead, it is not always necessary, in teaching our general principles, to detail all the individual facts upon which they may be founded. A few pertinent examples are sufficient for the purpose.

"From what I have said, none of my auditors will be at a loss to conjecture what ideas I attach to the Philosophy of History. The Philosophy of History means those general principles which the facts of history clearly establish. It is not, therefore, my intention to detail all the events which are recorded in the page of history. I shall attempt to exhibit those principles which are deduced from those events, and shall consider those events themselves, not in their chronological order, but as they tend to establish the principles I had previously advanced.

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The philosophy of history takes a much wider range than political economy. The economist views only those facts which have an influence on the accumulation of national wealth. The philosopher views also those facts which have a reference to the character of man; to the development of his physical powers; the exercise of his intellectual faculties: his progress in scientific inquiry; the formation of domestic and civil society; and his performance of moral and religious duties.

"In pursuing these inquiries, I propose to deliver five lectures. The first will be on the Philosophy of Geographical History; the second, the Philosophy of Domestic History; the third, the Philosophy of Intellectual History; the fourth, the Philosophy of Political History; fifthly, the Philosophy of Ecclesiastical History.

"In the first lecture, upon the Philosophy of Geographical History, I propose to inquire what are the effects which history

records to have been produced upon man and upon human society by geographical circumstances-by the varieties of climate; by the mountainous character of countries; by the fertility or barrenness of the soil; or by the intervention of rivers or arms of the sea.

"In the second lecture, I shall inquire what is the language of history as to the relation of husband and wife; the institutions of polygamy and divorce; the relation between parents and children, masters and servants; and the rise and progress of domestic slavery. This lecture will be on the Philosophy of Domestic History.

"In the third lecture, on the Philosophy of Intellectual or Scientific History, I shall inquire into the circumstances which have developed the intellectual faculties; the rise and progress of the arts; the circumstances by which they are promoted or retarded; the advantages which the moderns have over the ancients; and the benefits to be expected from universal education.

"In the fourth lecture, upon the Philosophy of Political History, I shall inquire what is the evidence of history as to the origin of government; the advantages and disadvantages of particular forms of government; and the union of the simple forms in the British Constitution.

"In the fifth lecture, upon the Philosophy of Ecclesiastical History, I propose to examine whether it is obvious from history that man is endowed with a moral sense; to inquire what are the different forms of polytheism; and how far it is necessary that the church should be established by the civil power; and to trace the influence of religion upon the political, intellectual, and social happiness of man.'

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We shall now point out some of the different ways in which logic is applied to history.

1. Logic is applied to history in examining the evidence either for or against the truth of disputed facts :—

"Without this exercise of the_reasoning faculties, books will as often mislead as instruct us. In making an estimate of the authenticity of historical relations, three principal rules are to be observed, the probability or improbability of the facts recorded, the nature of the evidence attesting them, and in what degree they are corroborated or contradicted by the general circumstances of the world in the period of time alluded to. On these principles the reader must exercise a discretionary power of yielding or suspending his belief; but he ought carefully to avoid the two extremes of scepticism and credulity, which are equally

inimical to the improvement of the human mind."—Bigland's Letters on History.

"There is a minuteness in the details of the Mosaic writings, which argues their truth; for it often argues the eye-witness, as in the adventures of the wilderness; and often seems intended to supply directions to the artificer, as in the construction of the tabernacle.

"There are touches of nature in the narrative, which argue its truth; for it is not easy to regard them otherwise than as strokes from the life-as where the mixed multitude,' whether half-casts or Egyptians, are the first to sigh for the cucumbers and melons of Egypt, and to spread discontent through the camp; as, the miserable exculpation of himself, which Aaron attempts, with all the cowardice of conscious guilt-I cast into the fire, and there came out this calf: the fire, to be sure, being in the fault."

'There is a candour in the treatment of his subject by Moses, which argues his truth; as when he tells of his own want of eloquence, which unfitted him for a leader-his own want of faith, which prevented him from entering the promised land-the idolatry of Aaron his brother-the profaneness of Nadab and Abihu, his nephews--the disaffection and punishment of Miriam, his sister the relationship which Amram his father bore to Jochebed his mother, which became afterwards one of the prohibited degrees in the marriage tables of the Levitical law."-Blunt's Scriptural Coincidences.

2. Logic is applied to history in discussing the characters of distinguished men :

If Alexander had not been at the head of such an army, and assisted by the counsels and exertions of such commanders as Parmenio, Lysimachus, Antigonus, Perdiccas, Craterus, Ptolemy, and others; or if he had turned his arms westward against the warlike Romans, instead of the effeminate Persians, his affairs would, in all probability, have assumed a very different aspect, and he would scarcely have shone in the page of history as the invincible conqueror. But every observing and intelligent reader of history cannot but see, that in this war the circumstances of the two belligerent nations, and the state of their armies, were such that a general of ordinary abilities in Alexander's place could hardly have failed of success. Possessing all the advantages of an excellent literary and military education, and endowed by nature with courage, magnanimity, and genius, Alexander appears to have been capable of the greatest things; but we can only estimate his political and military character by what he actually performed; and in this estimation we must allow that,